Darla's Restaurant Hot

Darla’s has loads of charm, is warm and friendly and you feel like you are home even when it is your first visit. The décor is eclectic with pictures of events they have held there as well as photos from the Little Rascals. The Little Rascals was a TV show back in the 1930’s and featured characters such a Spanky, Buckwheat, Alfalfa and Darla of course.There is entertainment nightly and the night we were there they had a Country Gospel Band. This just added to the charm as the diners were joining in with the entertainers.

Have you ever just wanted to go out for a great home cooked meal? A place that felt like home? A place where you do not have to get dressed up for? Then you just might want to take a drive out to Darla’s Restaurant.

Those of you who live in east Lee County more than likely have heard of Darla’s but it is a well-kept secret from the rest of the county.Darla’s is located just minutes east of I-75 on Palm Beach Blvd. in the Fort Myers Shores area.

Darla’s has loads of charm, is warm and friendly and you feel like you are home even when it is your first visit. The décor is eclectic with pictures of events they have held there as well as photos from the Little Rascals. The Little Rascals was a TV show back in the 1930’s and featured characters such a Spanky, Buckwheat, Alfalfa and Darla of course.There is entertainment nightly and the night we were there they had a Country Gospel Band. This just added to the charm as the diners were joining in with the entertainers.

The dinner menu has home cooking favorites such as ½ fried chicken ($9.75), country fried steak ($8.75), Liver and onions ($9.00), Meatloaf ($9.50), Ham Steak ($9.50), Fish “Swai” grilled, fried or blacken ($9.75) all dinner are served with soup or salad as well as choice of potatoes (mashed, baked or French fries) and the vegetable of the day.They also have pasta ($8) and open face turkey, meatloaf or roast-beef ($9) on the menu. You will not find prices like this at any of those chain restaurants.

We chose the fried chicken, liver and onions and country fried steak. One of our dining partners prefers all dark meat as opposed to the ½ chicken. When asked if he could have all dark they easily accommodated his request. Their menu states, “If we don’t have it, just ask us” and they certainly deliver there. Our meals were cooked to order and served hot. Each dish was absolutely delicious. The baked potatoes were cooked perfectly and the mashed potatoes were more like whipped! The portion sizes were more than ample. The friend chicken was not overly breaded, the liver and onions was cooked perfectly as requested and the country friend steak you could cut it with a fork.

Dessert that evening was homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. It just melted in your mouth and was light and fluffy.It was the best chocolate cake we have had anywhere in SWFL. Hats off to Darla for making the perfect chocolate cake.

The service was friendly and very efficient as they kept checking on us and refilling our beverages.

Darla’s also serves breakfast all day long and they offer omelets, breakfast platters, pancakes, French toast, and many country favorites as well. Their lunch menu consists of sandwiches, burgers, open faced hot platters, soups, chili and salads.

On Saturday afternoons from 12-7 pm they offer a BBQ Buffet for $9.99 and Sundays a breakfast buffet from 8 AM – 1 PM for $7.50

Darla’s is certainly the place to go if you want home cooking at a great price and entertainment too. Now that we have discovered this little gem we will certainly be visiting there again and again. No matter where you live in SWFL Darla’s is worth the drive and an experience you certainly will enjoy and if you are lucky perhaps they will be serving Darla’s chocolate cake that evening.